The advent of DNA-STR technology and the development of DNA databases have allowed investigators to search for genetic near matches to help solve crimes committed by relatives of people in the database. Siblings, parents, and offspring, can be linked to crimes because their relative’s DNA closely resembles DNA found at a crime scene. Familial DNA Database Searches are based on the fundamental principle that DNA profiles of people who are related are likely to contain similarities. Familial DNA database searches can inform two lines of inquiry: the identity of an individual who could be a sibling of the offender, or the identity of the offender’s parent or child. This investigative technique is most commonly used in the United Kingdom.

This webpage is dedicated to the dissemination of information about familial DNA searches in criminal investigations. If you have case studies where this technique was used or articles involving this topic, please send them to us so they can be included here.

Below is a list of individuals who were identified using a combination of traditional investigative techniques and familial searches of DNA databases.

Joseph Kappen - three sixteen-year-olds, Sandra Newton, Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd, were strangled and dumped in 1973. Their killer was never found until DNA testing and a familial search of the UK National DNA Database was conducted. The suspect’s DNA profile from the scenes did not match any offender profiles in the National DNA Database but there was a near match with Kappen’s son. Kappen had died some years earlier so a request was made to exhume his body for a DNA sample. The DNA sample taken from Kappen matched the suspect’s DNA profile from the three rape/homicides. News Report re Kappen.PDF

Craig Harman - a brick was thrown through the windshield of the victim’s truck from a bridge above a highway, causing the victim to suffer a fatal heart attack. DNA from the brick was checked against the UK National Database but there was no exact match. Twenty-five people with similar DNA were located in the database and the defendant's relative was top of the list. A voluntary DNA sample from Harman was found to be a perfect match and, in the face of the evidence, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. News Report re Harman.PDF

Jeffrey Gafoor - a murder went unsolved for fifteen years. When authorities ran the DNA profile through the UK National Database the DNA profile of a fourteen-year-old boy was close. DNA from the boy's uncle Jeffery Gafoor matched exactly. When questioned, Gafoor admitted to the murder. News Report re Jeffrey Gafoor.PDF

Jason Thomas Ward - 87 year-old Gladys Godfrey was raped and murdered in 2002. The same man attempted to rape another senior in April 2001. A familial search was conducted with DNA from the scenes and a relative of the perpetrator was found in the DNA database. Ward was located through this search and confessed. Press Release re Ward, Alderson.PDF

James Ben Davies - between 1998 and 2000, a rapist committed three violent sexual assaults. The three offenses were linked by common DNA, but the rapist’s DNA was not in the UK National DNA Database. Familial searching led to a close DNA match with a family member whose DNA was on file in the database. Press Release re Davies.PDF

Daniel Alderson - in 1992, an eighteen-year-old woman was raped and in 1997, a twelve-year-old girl was indecently assaulted. The same DNA profile was obtained in both cases. No match was found in the UK National Database. Familial searching was used to identify a close family member who had a DNA profile similar to the profile obtained from the incidents. Together with information about the physical appearance of the offender, investigators were led to Daniel Alderson. He was sentenced to six years in prison in November 2004. Press Release re Ward, Alderson.PDF

Tahir Mahmood - a cab driver raped a woman passenger after driving her to an isolated spot. Initial checks with the UK National DNA Database failed to find a match. Scientists then came up with 700 possible "familial" DNA groupings. Detectives carried out an elimination process, excluding people because of their age, ethnicity or geographical location. They ended up with 30 suspects whose DNA was close to that of the rapist. Among them was a brother the rapist. Detectives obtained a swab from Mahmood and it matched the DNA from the rape. Report Mahmood.PDF

James Lloyd - this rapist confessed to a string of attacks in the 1980s where he took the victim’s shoes as trophies. When DNA from his sister went into the UK National Database, there was a familial connection made to his DNA samples that had been taken at the time of the attacks. News Report re James Lloyd.PDF

Russell Bradbury - No match for a rapist’s DNA was found in the UK National Database. Through familial searching the evidence found on the victim was linked to a member of the rapist’s family. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from the rapist and, when it matched, he admitted to the rape and was sentenced. Press Release re Russel Bradbury.PDF

Graham Darbyshire - in 2004, a cold case review led to an upgraded DNA profile from a semen stain in a 1995 rape. The profile was loaded onto the UK National DNA Database but it did not match anyone. However it did match the partial profile from a 1993 rape. Investigators utilized familial DNA searching followed by Y-STR testing to get to a relative of the rapist. This work lead to Darbysire’s conviction and life sentence. He had prior sexual assault convictions from 1971 and 1984. News Report re Darbyshire.PDF

Geoffrey Godfrey - a 36-year-old mother of two was raped as she walked along a path. The rapist’s DNA was recovered but it did not match anyone in the UK National Database. After the arrest of a relative, a familial match led to Godfrey. Fourteen years after the rape Godfrey admitted his guilt in court. News Report re Godfrey.PDF

Christopher Downes - in 2006, police started a cold case investigation into attacks on three women in Salisbury, England in 1984-85. Biological testing resulted in a DNA profile of the rapist, but no match was found in the UK National DNA Database. Familial DNA search disclosed a close DNA match with Downes’ son whose DNA was in the database. The investigation led to Christopher Downes. The day that Downes provided a DNA sample to investigating officers, he committed suicide. The sample Downes provided matched a semen stain found in 1984 at one of the three rape scenes in Salisbury.News Story re Downes.PDF

Baby Lara investigation – the remains of a six month-old baby girl were found entombed in a block of concrete in a garage in the village of Barepot, England. The remains had been there for up to 40 years. A familial DNA database search led to Anne Chadwick; her DNA profile indicated that she was either the baby’s mother or sister. Due to medical reasons, Chadwick could not have been the mother. Chadwick’s mother, Sheila Parker, had died years before and her remains had been cremated. Preserved histological samples from Parker were DNA tested and showed that Parker could not be excluded as the baby’s mother. Further DNA analysis concluded that the baby was probably the illegitimate daughter of Joe Thwaites and Sheila Parker, and the older sister of Anne Chadwick. News Reports re Baby Lara.PDF

Derek Young - committed a series of sex attacks using a knife beginning in the 1990s. When the cases were reopened, investigators conducted a familial investigation which linked DNA from Young’s son, who was in the UK National Database, to DNA samples that had been taken at the time of the attacks. Young pled guilty to rape, attempted rape and indecent assault and was sentenced to 15 years. News Report re Young.PDF

Bronagh Bond - abandoned her two new born infants, the first in 2003 and the second in 2006. DNA established that the babies were sisters and a familial DNA database search resulted in a close match with a man who lived near where the babies had been found. His four sisters all submitted to DNA tests and it was determined that one of the sisters, Bronagh, was the babies’ mother. News Report re Bond.PDF

Dale Burrows - committed a rape in 1989, which went unsolved until investigators used a familial DNA database search that connected Burrow’s sister to DNA left at the scene of the attack. The sister’s DNA was in the UK database because of a minor offense. News Report re Burrows.PDF

David Newton - stabbed and raped a sixteen-year-old girl in 1997 and stabbed and attempted to rape a fifty-two- year-old woman in 2006. The offender DNA profile found in both cases was the same. Although there was no match to the profile on the UK National DNA Database, there was a link to Newton’s son through a familial DNA search. Newton was charged and pled guilty in both cases. News Report re Newton.PDF

Ronald Castree - West Yorkshire police in the UK reopened the sexual assault and murder of 11-year-old girl that occurred in 1975. The victim had been stabbed 12 times. A familial search was run on the National UK database to find a DNA code similar to that of the suspect. Before the follow-up investigation on the list of family candidates was completed, Ronald Castree’s DNA profile appeared in the database and matched the forensic DNA profile found in the case. Castree had been arrested for an alleged sexual assault and, although he was not charged, his DNA was entered in the national database. Castree received a life sentence. News Report re Castree.PDF

Ian O'Callaghan - murdered and then mutilated a 66-year-old woman in a bus station bathroom in Manchester, UK in 1994. In 2006, a drunken driving arrest placed O'Callaghan into the DNA database and he matched the unknown DNA profile found on the victim's body. At the time of the match the Cold Case Review Unit was working through a Familial DNA list, which included O’Callaghan’s brother. Had he not been identified through the DNA database, the familial investigation would have led to O’Callaghan’s apprehension. He was convicted of the sexually motivated murder and sentenced to life in prison. News Reports re O'Calleghan.pdf

Wayne Jarden - in 1988, broke into a 27-year-old woman’s home in Christchurch, New Zealand, tied her to her table and raped her. In 1996, Jarden broke into a 90-year-old woman's apartment and raped her. Both crimes remained unsolved and it was not until DNA tests in 2000 that investigators knew they had been committed by the same man. Jarden's DNA was not in database, but a familial search linked the DNA profile from the rapes to two of Jarden's relatives. One was Jarden's brother, Kevin Jarden, who was in the database for sexual crimes involving several young girls. After charges were brought against him, Wayne Jarden pled guilty to both two rapes. News Report re Jarden.pdf

Daniel Cronin - police conducted a familial DNA search in the sexual assault of a 16 year-old school girl in South Wales, UK which occurred in 1995. The familial search lead to a relative of Cronin who was in the DNA database due to an arrest for a petty crime. The DNA collected from the sexual assault matched a sample taken from Cronin, who later admitted having consensual sex with the victim. Although the familial DNA investigation was successful, the jury acquitted Cronin of the rape based on a consent defense. News report re Cronin.pdf

Robert Morley - raped/murdered a nine-year-old boy named Imraan Vohra in Lancashire England in 1985. The case remained unsolved for 24 years until Morley was identified as the killer though a familial DNA search and investigation. Morley died in 1997. News Report re Morley.pdf

Rachel Davies - illegally disposed of the body of her stillborn baby in Alcester, England in 2006. DNA was obtained from both the baby and the bloodstained garments found with the body. A comparison of the two profiles revealed that the bloodstains must belong to the baby's mother. There was no match on a DNA search on the UK national database. A familial search for the baby's father was conducted using 50 percent of the baby's DNA profile - the part not inherited from its mother. This search led to the father who provided the name of Rachel Davies. Her DNA matched the DNA on the bloodstained clothes and proved she was the baby's mother. Davies pled guilty to concealment of the body. News Report re Davies.pdf

David Lace - raped and murdered Teresa De Simone in 1979. Another man was convicted of the murder, but was exonerated by DNA after serving twenty-seven years in prison. A UK familial DNA database search resulted in a partial match to a sibling of Lace. A further sample was taken from another sibling, who was not on the database, to help confirm the familial match. Lace had committed suicide in 1988. His body was exhumed in 2009 in order to obtain a DNA sample. Lace's DNA match DNA found at the crime scene. News Report re Lace.pdf News_Report2_re_Lace.pdf http://fcpei.denverda.org/Videos/De_Simone_30_years_later.html

Luis Jaimes-Tinajero - pleaded guilty to two car break-ins in Denver, Colorado after he was linked to the crimes through a familial DNA search and investigation. Blood found at the scene produced a DNA profile that was submitted to the CODIS DNA database, but no match was found. A familial search software program, designed by the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Police Crime Lab, indicated a strong likelihood that a brother of Jaimes-Tinajero was in the database because of a felony conviction. After further investigation, Luis Jaimes-Tinajero was identified and police obtained a court order for his DNA sample. His DNA perfectly matched the original car break-in and also linked him to a second car break-in. This is the first conviction in the United States where the results from a familial search software program aided in solving a crime. News Report re Tinajero.pdf

Joseph Reekers - murdered Marie Jamieson in Auckland, New Zealand in 2001. In 2008 police retested a DNA sample found on her body but a search of the National DNA database failed to find a direct match. A familial DNA search identified a sibling of Reekers in the DNA database. The follow up investigation lead to Reekers, DNA confirmed he was the killer and he pleaded guilty to the murder. News Report re Reeker.pdfReekers decision.pdf

Paul Stewart Hutchinson - abducted, raped and strangled Colette Aram in 1983 in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, in the UK. Miss Aram’s naked body was left lying in a field. In 2009, Hutchinson was connected with the crime came after DNA evidence from the scene was matched with one of his relatives whose DNA is on the national DNA database. He pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. News Reports re Hutchinson.pdfhttp://fcpei.denverda.org/Videos/Hutchinson.htm

Harry Musson – broke into the victim’s home and raped her in Barnsley, UK in 1990. The case went unsolved until DNA from the attacked was connected to Musson through a familial search which lead police to one of his relatives whose DNA was on the national DNA database. Musson pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and burglary and received a twelve year sentence. News Report re Musson.pdf

Keith Davison - raped a waitress in Portsmouth, England in 1990; the crime went unsolved for twenty years. He was tied to the rape when DNA from his daughter was put into the National DNA Database and revealed a familial link to DNA from the rape. Davison denied the rape and was convicted after a trial. News Report re Davison.pdf

Phil Collins - raped a 17-year-old woman in 1990 in Ipswich, UK. In 2009, Collins’ DNA was connected to DNA from the rape through a familial search after his son's DNA was entered into the UK’s National DNA Database. He denied the rape at trial but was convicted. News Report re Collins.pdfNews Report re Collins1.pdf

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. - the serial killer know as the “Grim Sleeper” was caught through familial DNA search after his son’s DNA uploaded into the California DNA database. Franklin’s arrest ends a twenty-five year investigation into the deaths of eleven people dating back to 1985. He last struck on Jan. 1, 2007. A twelfth victim escaped after she was shot and raped. All the bodies were found outdoors, often in alleys a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles. After the familial DNA database link, detectives used a piece of discarded pizza with Franklin's DNA to make the link to the DNA profiles from the crime scenes. News Report re Franklin.pdf

Elvis Lorenzo Garcia - threatened a woman with a knife and raped her in Santa Cruz, CA in 2008. In 2010, a familial DNA search linked DNA evidence from the rape to Garcia's father who was in the California DNA database. Investigators then obtained a sample of Garcia's DNA, which matched the DNA from the rape. News Report re Garcia.pdfJury convicts Elvis Garcia.pdf

Robert Saint was convicted of a 1989 sexual assault that went unsolved until 2011 when a familial DNA search was conducted on the UK National DNA database using DNA recovered from the rape. Saint’s son was on the database and as a result of a familial search investigators made the connect to Saint. His DNA sample was obtained and matched the DNA from the rape. New Report re Saint.pdfSaint.wmv

Michael Acey sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in 1984; the case went unsolved for nearly 30 years. In 2011, the DNA profile from the attack was compared to the UK national DNA database without success. A DNA familial search led to Acey, who gave a DNA sample which matched the profile from the attack. Acey was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty. Acey.pdf

David Bryant - was responsible for a string of kidnappings/sexual assaults of little girls in the 1980s and 1990s. The cases went unsolved until 2011 when a familial search of the UK national DNA database produced a list of several dozen possible relatives. A further Y-STR search produced two hits that led to family members of Bryant. Bryant’s DNA profile matched the one found in the unsolved cases. Bryant initially denied the charge, but faced with the powerful DNA evidence changed his plea to guilty to four counts of kidnap and four counts of sexual assault. Bryant.pdf

Marcus Phillips - pleaded guilty to a car break-in in Denver, Colorado after he was linked to the crimes through a familial DNA search and investigation. Blood found at the scene produced a DNA profile that was submitted to the CODIS DNA database, but no match was found. A familial search indicated a strong likelihood that a brother of Phillips was in the database because of a felony conviction. After further investigation, Phillips was identified and police obtained a court order for his DNA sample. His DNA profile matched the profile from the car break-in. This is only the second conviction in the United States where the results from a familial search software program aided in solving a crime.

Jon Molt was traced through a "familial match" with his father’s DNA sample leading to his conviction for the rape of a 15 year old girl in Essex in the UK. The case went unsolved for almost 15 years until Molt was identified as the attacker through the familial search and follow up investigation. He was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years for the attack. News report re Molt.pdf

Keith Henderson – sexually assaulted 16-year-old girl who was walking with her boyfriend on Town Path in Salisbury, UK in October 2001. Despite being threatened by her attacker, the victim managed to ensure there was DNA evidence on her clothing, which the police later recovered. Although no match was found at the time, a familial link with Henderson was found when a relative arrested in 2007. Henderson was convicted of assault, possession of an imitation firearm, two counts of unlawful imprisonment and indecent assault and received a 12 1/2 year sentence. News Report re Henderson.pdf

Jack Wesley Melton - Florence Kate Martin was raped and murdered in Baylor County, Texas in 1994. DNA recovered in the case did not match anyone in the CODIS DNA database. The case went unsolved until the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted a familial search between the crime scene DNA profile and the Texas state DNA database. The familial search along with a follow up investigation lead to a brother of an individual in the database. The DNA profiles of the brothers relieved a potentially familial link between the crime scene sample and their father Jack Wesley Melton. Through additional conventional investigation, law enforcement determined that Melton had been released from prison without providing a DNA sample for the database. Officials obtained a sample of Melton’s DNA and it matched the DNA profile found at the crime. Melton was charged with Martin’s murder. News Story re Metlon.pdf

James Brown – raped and murdered Linda Saunders and attempted to murder Michael Reynolds in Sana Anna, California in 1978. A familial search of the California DNA database resulted in a match from the crime scene DNA and Brown’s brother who was in the database for a felony arrest. Once Brown had been identified as a suspect, it was determined that he committed suicide in 1996 and his body had been cremated. Investigators obtained a DNA sample from Brown’s son to solidify the case. News Report re Brown.pdfSaunders Clip.wmv

Dereck Sanders - known as the “Roaming Rapist”, was taken into custody and charged with a series of nine sexual assaults involving ten women
that took place in Sacramento, California between 1998 and 2003. DNA samples from the sexual assaults all pointed to one man, but until investigators conducted a familial search in the California DNA database they could not identify the rapist. There was a familial hit was to Sanders’ older brother, who was in the database for a felony conviction. Once detectives had the familial hit, they followed Dereck
Sanders to a McDonald's restaurant and recovered his DNA from a drinking straw he discarded in the trash. Sanders is charged with 35 counts of
forcible sexual assault involving ten victims ages 14-42, in nine separate incidents. News Report re Sanders.pdfRoaming Rapist.wmv

Hilland Matthews - pleaded guilty to sexual assault where during the attack the victim scratched him. Investigators obtained his DNA from blood he left at the scene. Matthews was not in the UK National DNA database but investigators were able to identify him through a familial search. News story re Mathews

Ian Phipps - raped a 14-year-old girl in 1986 and a woman of 23 in 1991. His DNA was not on the UK national database. A familial search lead to Phipps' son who was in the database. Through further investigation Phipps' DNA was obtained and he was charged and plead guilty to both rapes. Phipps.PDF

Salvador Orozco - approached a woman at a Metro Station in Gateshead, UK in 1990. He dragged her into a derelict railway yard and raped her. A familial DNA search of the DNA from the attack was used to connect Orozco to the crime through one of his offspring who was in the DNA database. A jury convicted Orozco of the rape and he received a nine-year prison sentence. Orozco.PDF

Kevin Holmes – kidnapped and sexually assaulted two young girls on two separate occasions in Lancashire in the UK. DNA from one of the assaults was run on the UK DNA database without a match. After a familial search with lead to a close family member in the database, Holmes was arrested and convicted of the crimes. News story re Holmes.pdf

Barry Howell - carried out a brutal knife-point rape 24 years ago in Manchester in the UK. The case went unsolved until the DNA from the rape was connected to Howell’s son’s DNA through a familial search. At trial in 2013 Howell claimed the sex act was consensual but the jury found him guilty of the rape. News report re-Howell.pdf

Tyrone Lamont Holloway – was convicted in 2013 of a rape that happened 12 years ago. He is the first person brought to justice in Virginia by
familial DNA searching. News Report re Holloway.pdf

Michael Dixon faces five felony sexual assault charges including two sexual assault of a child charges after he was linked to the DNA found in those cases through a familial DNA search of Wisconsin DNA database. Dixon was not in the DNA database but familial search software linked DNA from the rapes to his brother who was in the database. A conventional investigation and a DNA match to a sample from Dixon lead to the sexual assault charges. Dixon.pdf

The murder of Irma Palasics – on November 6, 1999 two men attacked Irma and Gregor Palasics in their home in Canberra, Australia. The couple was bound, gagged and savagely beaten. Irma died from the attack. DNA left by one of the attackers was tied to DNA left at the scene of a 2010 break in through a familial search of the Australian DNA database. The familial DNA search shows that one of the couples' attackers may be the father of one of five young men who broke into a business on May 16, 2010. No arrests in either case has been made in either case. Palasics.pdf

Antoine Devon Pettis - has been charged with sexually assaulting a 101-year-old woman in her home in September of 2014 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Pettis DNA at the scene but was only linked to the crime after law enforcement ran a familial DNA search and found a male relative of Pettis in the DNA Database. This is the second time in state history that DNA from a relative has led to the identification and arrest of a suspect wanted for a sexual assault. Pettis.pdf

Gilbert Andrew Chavarria - has been linked by a familial DNA search to the string of crimes dating back to the summer of 2013 where he allegedly climbed into the bedrooms of children and touching them while they slept in San Diego, California. News Report re Chavarria.pdf

Jeffrey Crum - has been charged with attempted felony murder and sexual battery after detectives linked his DNA to a January 16, 1992 rape in Spring Hill, Florida. DNA taken from the victim’s body and clothing went unmatched in the DNA database until officials conducted a familial DNA search which linked the crime scene DNA to Crum’s son. Crum reportedly admitted to living 1.4 miles away from the attack at the time, but denied knowing the victim. He provided a voluntary oral DNA swab which matched the samples taken from the victim. New report re Crum.pdf

Cecil Wayne Oliver – murdered seventeen-year-old Carolyn Andrew with a single bullet wound to her head on May 6, 1981 in Duluth, Minnesota. DNA found on Andrew’s clothing went unmatched in the DNA database for decades. Finally, officials conducted a familial DNA search which linked the crime scene DNA to Oliver’s son. Although Oliver committed suicide nine years after killing Andrew, his DNA matched the DNA from the crime scene and the case was solved. Oliver.pdf

For more information on familial DNA searches in criminal investigations see:

Summary Report of the Virginia Scientific Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee on Familial Searches, presented to the Scientific Advisory Committee at its meeting in Richmond, Virginia on August 7, 2007. subcommitteerpt.pdf